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Kauffman Foundation Partners with City of Burlington to Help Local Entrepreneurs Succeed

OFFICE OF MAYOR MIRO WEINBERGER
149 Church Street | Burlington, VT 05401 | 802.865.7272

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 1, 2015
Contact:  Brian Lowe
                   802.735.3983

Kauffman Foundation Partners with City of Burlington to Help Local Entrepreneurs Succeed  
Mayor Miro Weinberger today announced that the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation will partner with the City of Burlington on an 18-month engagement to improve conditions for entrepreneurs in Burlington and study the results of this effort. In collaboration with the City’s Community & Economic Development Office (CEDO) and other community partners supporting Burlington's entrepreneurial growth, the Kauffman Foundation will bring a combination of up to $500,000 in Burlington-specific grants, technical assistance, and research to strengthen the City’s capacity to support entrepreneurs who are starting and growing employer companies in our community.
 
"Entrepreneurial activity is critical to the health of a city’s economy,” said Mayor Weinberger. “Entrepreneurs drive job creation, the development of more innovative products and services, and increased economic mobility and opportunity. By coming together to help more people start and grow great companies, we can make our community more economically vibrant in a smart and sustainable way."
 
Of the cities invited to apply for this Kauffman Foundation award from the nation’s 100 largest metro areas, Burlington was one of two cities selected, along with Nashville, Tennessee. The first and only other City the Kauffman Foundation partnered with in 2014 is Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Kauffman Foundation’s engagement in Albuquerque included funding an accelerator for water energy technology companies, working with the local community foundation to create a permanent fund to support entrepreneurship-focused nonprofits in the community, working with the City of Albuquerque to highlight it as a great place to start a company, and providing technical assistance to the City as it develops and implements its plans for growing its entrepreneurship ecosystem. The Kauffman Foundation’s current partnership with the City of Burlington will be tailored to the specific economic conditions and the entrepreneurial ecosystem in our City, as each engagement is customized to the particular needs of that community.  Kauffman and the City are concluding a six-month discovery process and expect to be able to formally launch the engagement before the end of the year.
 
Mayor Weinberger and Diana Colangelo, CEDO Economic Development Specialist, will be participating in the Kauffman Foundation Mayors Conference on Entrepreneurship in Albuquerque on October 6 and 7, 2015. 
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Press Release Date: 
10/01/2015
City Department: 
Mayor's Office